I'm On Fire
by Echante
Summary: A 20-year old Addison goes to her annual family reunion. Mark/Addison


A/N: Less than a week til the crossover, I'm shaking. I'm so scared. So much depends on this. Sorry if there's too many mistakes, I don't really proofread, but I should.

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Addison had never been too close with her cousin. In fact, for the longest time, the two of them had existed in a continuum of competition and resentment. Her mother had always like the other girl better, and had never approved of Addison's tangled hair and general lack of care for her appearance. She changed for her mother's approval, but the Addison who wore heals and blouses, was still no comparison apparently, to the ineffable beauty that was Jasmine Forbes.

The annual family reunion was never something she attended, but once she got rid of the awkward braces and grew a pair of breasts, her mother deemed her attractive enough to be considered a part of the family. This year she insisted she came. Personally, Addison thought she had better things to do. She refused to bring her boyfriend, because they weren't at _that _stage yet and she didn't really want him to see the train wreck that was her family. Any sane man would run and hide, and she kind of liked him; she hoped he'd stick around.

It seemed fitting that it would be held on the coldest day of the year, the snow swirled loudly outside and she shivered in her green cashmere sweater. She waited for her nemeses to make her entrance, certain that it would be the moment her mother attacked her. Sure enough Jasmine walked in donning a tiny black dress and wearing her blonde hair curled down in sophisticated rolls. Addison groaned at her own wavy hair, she felt like she'd just walked off the beach. She was sure that Jasmine's date had walked off the beach. But that had more to do with the pure essence of his being. He was glowing, even in his tux he looked sun kissed and she could tell he knew how gorgeous he was because of the way he smirked. He caught her staring and sent a wink in her direction while she looked away mortified. She was even more mortified when they started walking in her direction. She hit rock bottom when her mother followed her.

"Jasmine!" Her mother cried, Addison grimaced and the beautiful man looked at her curiously.

"Auntie!" She cried just a little too happily, "How are you?"

"I am good, and how are you? And who is this gorgeous man you've brought with you?"

The man laughed good naturedly while Addison mentally puked, "Mark Sloan," he answered, kissing her hand and smiling, "pleased you meet you." Addison rolled her eyes at how easily he just played her mother.

"I'm Bizzy Forbes Montgomery," she replied smiling at him, and then she nudged Addison, who awake from her bitter trance and stutter, "Oh… I'm Addison."

Her mother frowned and Addison kicked herself for not remembering that she was supposed to repeat her whole name to him, but he was already smiling at her and leaning in towards her hand. It tingled where his lips touched. She was a little disconcerted.

An hour goes by and she's been sober for far too long, she excuses herself from the aunt that she's been talking to and makes her way to the bar, climbing over the counter and sliding down to examine the liquor. The bartender is an old friend of her and he laughs when she grabs a whole bottle of Absolut Vodka and flashes it at him announcing that she's taking it.

"Go ahead," he tells her, "There's plenty more where that came from."

Even though the snow had almost completely obliterated the balcony, she shuffled through and maneuvers herself so that she's leaning against the railing. Her sweater is already wet from the contact with the frozen rain but she doesn't care. The burn of Vodka down her throat keeps her warm.

She hears the door slide open and is a little surprised but figures it's her mom coming to lecture her about making herself visible. She sighs and turns to meet the intruder but is surprised to come face to face with grey eyes instead of blue. "Oh…" she stammers, "Hi… Mark right?"

Mark smirks and nods, "Addison."

"Yeah." She bobs her head up and down suddenly realizing how red her cheeks had become and how tangled she'd let her hair get.

"I didn't mean to disturb you," he tells her, eyeing the vodka in her hand with a raised eyebrow. But he shrugs because hey, who is he to judge?

"Oh you weren't disturbing me." She assures him, "I just had to get away from the family."

"You're not one of them are you?"

She laughs, "Well medically I am," but she shakes her head, "but no, I didn't get the beauty and perfection that every single one of them seemed to inherit."

She's particularly entranced by his eyes, because they are unlike anything she's ever seen. Against the light of the snow, they seem to glow, they're misty and deep and she feels almost like she's jumped inside of them and now was floating around. "I don't know about the perfection," he laughs, "but you got the beauty part down."

She blushes and looks down and mumbled "thanks," quickly before changing the subject, "So you and Jasmine huh?"

His lips twitch upward, "Are you jealous?" He asks, eyes dancing.

"What?" She protests, "No!"

"Calm down," he can tell that she's a little jumpy, and he grabs the bottle in her hands and raises it to her face, she watches him as she takes a sip, "I was just kidding."

"Oh. Yeah, sorry… I just hate being here…"

"With me?" He asks, joking again and she glares, "No! I meant with the family… with these people who I'm supposed to pretend for…"

"I'm sorry," he says and steals the bottle from her, "to be honest I kind of hate them too… I mean your cousin's nice and all…" he trails off.

"Oh you don't have to sugar coat it just because I'm family… we don't get along."

Noticing her shivering slightly, he takes off his jacket and wraps it around her adding, "Why's that?"

"I don't know," she shrugs, and smiles gratefully at him for the jacket, "my mom's always liked her better than me you know? She's always been the pretty one, the funny one… the charming one…"

"So what are you?"

She scoffs, "The smart one."

"Well that's not bad."

"You wouldn't be talking to me if you knew."

"Knew what?"

She sighed, "I spent my childhood in libraries and," she blushes a little, "obsessed with West Wing and ER… I had glasses and braces until a year ago, and I'm going to Columbia, because I've seriously spent my whole life studying to get in there…" she buries her head in his jacket and peaks out at him through the top.

He grins, "Is that all? My best friend is way way worse, believe me, and I'm transferring to Columbia next year, from _Harvard,_ I'm not judging you." And he lifts a hand to her face and brushes the snow from her hair, "But maybe I should judge you for being a nerd. There's a difference you know." His smile is easy and she calms down a little.

"I know who you are," she admits, "although I'm having a hard time believing it right now. I've heard your name from one or two girls; you destroy girls like me for sport."

"What type of girls are like you?" He asks amused.

"The nerdy ones, the ugly ones."

His eyes widen, "Who the hell told you that you're ugly?"

She shrugs, "Everyone… it's just always been a known fact that Jasmine got all the looks from my mother's side of the family, and I got dedication from my dad."

He feels some inexplicable connection to this girl that he only met because he was trying to escape from her mother, who had followed him around the entire party. But he's never met someone with so many misconceptions about themselves. "What are you talking about?" He asks, a little violently, disgusted with the people who'd hurt her, he's vaguely surprised he hasn't hit on her yet, but something tells him that his isn't the time or place, "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

She begins to shake her head but he doesn't let her interrupt him, "No. I mean it; the green looks amazing on you. It brings out the flame in your hair and the blue in your eyes, and I've never met anyone with a smile as pure as yours," and his comment elicits another one from her lips, "If you weren't so damn out of my league I'd be hitting on you right now. I mean it."

And so she kisses him, she kisses him because nobody's ever said anything like that to her and meant it, and he makes her feel beautiful and sexy for the first time in her entire life, and she would have had sex with him right there on the balcony if it weren't so damn cold and if she didn't know his damn reputation. But it is all these things, and even though her alcohol addled mind is a bit slow, she does eventually become aware of her actions and she saves herself just in time, "I… um…" she wipes the lipstick that's smeared across her lips, "I have a boyfriend," she manages to stutter out and he pulls away and smiles in understanding, "Sorry." He tells her sheepishly and she sighs, "No… I kissed you, I'm sorry."

And he smiles at her and offers her a hand, "Can I take you back in then?"

She smiles and nods, "I would like that."

They dance like children and laugh for an evening, ignoring the dirty looks Jasmine sends in their direction, and then they part ways, never expecting to see each other again.

They were wrong. The next year, Derek introduces him to her as his best friend and she draws blood from her tongue.

The rest is history.


End file.
